Wolverhampton nurse's charity trek for colleagues' mental health

Sukdeep Dhadda will swap Wolverhampton for Everest on Thursday

An intensive care nurse is set to trek to the Everest base camp to raise money for medical staff whose mental health was affected by the pandemic.

Sukdeep Dhadda, 30, worked in an ICU at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital treating patients with coronavirus.

She said staff "just weren't prepared for the amount of patients we lost" and some colleagues had "found it difficult to cope with what they'd seen".

Ms Dhadda, from Willenhall, has so far raised more than £2,000.

Along with two school friends, Susan Ward and Ryan Williams, Ms Dhadda is setting off to Nepal where she will hike for 11 days to reach Everest base camp at an altitude of 5,400 metres (17,700ft).

Ms Dhadda will be joined by friends Ryan Williams and Susan Ward

"I have been training three times a week at the gym and have a personal trainer to make sure I am in the best shape to tackle the challenge," she said.

"The temperatures could get as cold as -7 degrees so that is also something to take into account.

"I am really looking forward to the challenge now and can't wait to get out there."

The money raised will be donated to The Laura Hyde Foundation, which provides mental health support to front-line workers including medical staff and police officers.

Speaking of her own experience during the pandemic, Ms Dhadda said working in an ICU was "relentless".

"Pre-Covid, you might lose two patients a week," she said. "But during Covid we were losing four or five patients a day.

"You're just not used to that level of loss."